Introduction to disaster risk reduction and management
Order ID 53563633773 Type Essay Writer Level Masters Style APA Sources/References 4 Perfect Number of Pages to Order 5-10 Pages Description/Paper Instructions
Introduction to disaster risk reduction and management
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Managing Conflict through Mediation during Flood Crisis in the M.S. Delta
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Introduction
The Flood crisis in M.S. Delta has been a big problem for the people near the river. These people have been victimized many times because the area many times receives heavy rains hence causing floods. The floods used to occur after twenty years, but due to climate change, the floods occur at an average of three years. This means that after three years, people in the lower Mississippi have to count losses. In the last eleven years, the area has been hit by four major floods in 2008, 2011, 2016, and 2018 which extend to 2019 (Chung, 2016). The row of floods in the M.S. Delta is long, with the flood of 1927 and 2018-2019 taking a longer duration.
Body
In 1927, more than 630,000 people were affected by the floods; 94% of the victims were the people in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana and more specifically on Mississippi Delta (Chung, 2016). Thousands of people were displaced from their homes, and great value properties were destroyed, including crops. In 2019, the floods occurred again and caused significant damage to the people living near the river. Again, people’s homes were submerged, property destroyed, and crops swept away due to the heavy rains and snow melting that caused the floods.
After the disastrous floods of 1927, the central government of the United States assigned the primary obligation of flood protection, especially in the lower Mississippi, to the U.S. Corps of Engineers who, embarked on a significant program of levee strengthening and major construction of floodways (Madu et al., 2018). However, the U.S. Corps of Engineers seems to have not done enough to protect against floods because since then, flood crises are still being reported in the area, and residents there have been complaining of the losses they incur when the floods happen. Moreover, relief food is not enough compensation for the victims because the government has often ignored them; hence they incur great losses when the river breaks its banks.
A conflict has been witnessed between the flood victims and the government every time the floods occur because there seem to be no proper mechanisms to compensate them when their crops and properties get destroyed by the floods. The government has to control and disasters when they occur, prevent them from happening, and compensate the victims. However, that has not been the case for victims in M.S. Delta. Most times, the government ignores them or offers them temporary relief food that cannot sustain them for a long duration.
The endless conflict has forced the two parties to seek a mediator to help them solve their disputes. The government and the resident representatives look for a trained mediator, particularly a neutral lawyer, to help them agree on several conflicting matters. One of the conflicting matters involves the flooding commissions, settling the displaced individuals and long-lasting measures that will end the problem completely. The Red Cross has been advocating for increasing flooding commissions to enable the victims to live a fulfilling life (Rubin, 2016). The mediator will help the governments and the M.S. Delta residents who are occasionally affected by the floods come to a common understanding. Unfortunately, conflicts occur every time floods occur, and a concrete decision has never been reached.
The mediator will offer the offender and the victim an opportunity to meet in a structured setting and engage in one-on-one discussion on settling the flood crisis conflicts, which arises almost after an average of three years (Rubin, 2016). However, in this case, the acts of God cause the flooding, but the burden is beard by the government because it is the body responsible for controlling and managing disasters when they occur in the country. The government does not cause the suffering directly, but it has failed to put permanent measures to protect people from the effects of flooding in the area. The floods have been happening in the last half a century, and the government has never put in place strategies that can significantly help end the problem completely. Therefore, the mediator will listen to the government’s side through its representative and the side of the victim’s representative and help them agree on the conflicting issue. The mediation process is one of the best methods of settling conflict since the mediator helps the disagreeing parties reach an agreement and suggest solutions (Rubin, 2016). In this case, the solutions agreed will be communicated to the victims and bring harmony between the two parties.
Conclusion
To conclude, a long-lasting solution for the M.S. Delta flooding crisis is required because it is sad for people living in the lower Mississippi to keep on incurring losses after every three years. Therefore, the U.S. government ought to put in place proper mechanisms for managing disasters. It may be hard to prevent disasters from happening, especially those triggered by acts of God, but it’s possible to lay permanent strategies to solve such crises once they occur.
References
Chung, J. (2016). Conflicts and natural disaster management: a comparative study of flood control in the Republic of Korea and the United States. Disasters, 40(3), 554-572.
Madu, C. N., Kuei, C. H., Madu, I. E., Ozumba, B. C., Nnadi, V. E., Odinkonigbo, U. L., & Ezeasor, I. C. (2018). Introduction to disaster risk reduction and management. In Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction & Management (pp. 1-29).
Rubin, M. (2016). Disaster Mediation. Disp. Resol. Mag., 13, 17.